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Red-figured Amphora: Flight of Iphigenia, Orest and Pylades from the Temple of Artemis of Taurida

Dimensions:

height: 62,2 cm

Red-figured Amphora: Flight of Iphigenia, Orest and Pylades from the Temple of Artemis of Taurida

Created: Southern Italy. 330-320 BC

Found:

One side of the amphora shows the flight of Iphigenia, Orestes and Pylades from the Temple of Artemis of Taurida. On the right there is Pylades holding his sword unsheathed. Iphigenia, dressed in a white chiton and himation, follows Pylades. She leans on Orestes's arm who walks behind her with his sword unsheathed. The youths wear plain garments of travellers, in which they were always depicted on vases. In the background there is a representation of the temple with Ionic columns and a Doric entablement. At the top right there are clothes and a cut-off head hanging to remind the viewer of the fate that Orestes has escaped. The amphora was painted by a Campanian artist of the last third of the 4th century BC, who got his name after the vase (now in Berlin) showing the king of the Lapithes Ixion bound for his sins to a wheel which revolved forever in the Underworld. The Master of Ixion is supposed to have painted about a hundred of vases and is particularly noted for his illustrations for tragedies, as well as the Trojan cycle and battle scenes. His works reveal a strong influence of contemporary Apulian and Attic vase-painters. His mythological themes, represented mainly on large vases, are particularly expressive. In his best works, including the Hermitage amphora, the artist has reached a polychrome effect. The perfect proportions rare for vase-painting and the variety of colours make us suggest that the design was inspired by the works of 4th-century BC monumental painters. The scene on the vase is undoubtedly associated with Euripides play Iphigenia among the Taurians, but at the same time it is far from being an illustration for a certain scene, as well as the majority of other vase designs associated with theatrical subjects.

Title:

Red-figured Amphora: Flight of Iphigenia, Orest and Pylades from the Temple of Artemis of Taurida

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